Search

Objective: The physiological effects of cigarette smoking have been widely studied, however, little is known regarding the effects of smoking hubble-bubble. We examined the acute effects of hubble-bubble smoking on heart rate, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide., Methods: This study was carried out in the student laboratory, School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, during the summer of 1999. In 18 healthy habitual hubble-bubble smokers, heart rate, blood pressure, and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide was measured before, during and post smoking of one hubble-bubble run (45 minutes)., Results: Compared to base line (time zero), at the end of smoking heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide were increased 16 2.4 beats per minute, 6.7 2.5 mm Hg, 4.4 1.6 mm Hg, 5.2 1.7 mm Hg, and 14.2 1.8 ppm, (mean standard error of mean, P<.05)., Conclusion: Acute short-term active hubble-bubble smoking elicits a modest increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide in healthy hubble-bubble smokers.

Objective: To analyze the biochemical effect of in vivo insulin therapy on the amylase and lipase activities in the pancreatic acinar cells of streptozotocin-diabetic rats, and to detect any possible regeneration in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans using transmission electron microscopy., Methods: Adult male albino Fischer-344 rats were divided into 3 groups, the first group received drug vehicle and served as controls, the 2nd group was made diabetic with a single intravenous dose of streptozotocin (75 mg/kg body weight), while the 3rd group was made diabetic as in its 2nd group but the rats were treated with Lente human insulin. Their body weight, blood glucose and glucosuria were regularly recorded, and blood samples for serum immunoreactive insulin assay were taken from each rat at sacrifice. The largest part of each excised pancreas was homogenized for biochemical assay of amylase, lipase and insulin, while only a small part of the gland was used for morphological survey. The study was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan., Results: The serum immunoreactive and pancreatic-homogenate insulin levels of the untreated diabetic rats were reduced by 85% and 37% compared with those of the controls. Their pancreatic amylase and lipase levels were also reduced by 66% and 43%. Insulin treatment of diabetic rats resulted in a 65-fold increase in serum immunoreactive insulin, and approximately 61%, 47%, and 25% increase in the pancreatic-homogenate levels of amylase, lipase, and insulin. Electron microscopic examination of the pancreas of untreated and insulin-treated diabetic rats showed no evidence of beta cell regeneration., Conclusion: Inspite of the controversies in an extensively studied field of in vivo and in vitro influence of insulin on pancreatic enzymes, our present biochemical data clearly indicates that in vivo insulin administration has a stimulant effect on both amylase and lipase activity in the pancreatic acinar cells of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. It also proposes that insulin might play an important role in beta cell regeneration although no morphological evidence of beta cell mitosis was demonstrable. We finally suggest that the biochemical assay of pancreatic enzymes might be of value in determining the severity and chronicity of human insulin-dependent diabetes, and can be used as a parameter in evaluating the response to treatment.